A Study In Scarlet | Page 6

remarked Sherlock
Holmes, sticking a small piece of plaster over the prick on his finger. "I
have to be careful," he continued, turning to me with a smile, "for I
dabble with poisons a good deal." He held out his hand as he spoke,
and I noticed that it was all mottled over with similar pieces of plaster,
and discoloured with strong acids.
"We came here on business," said Stamford, sitting down on a high
three-legged stool, and pushing another one in my direction with his
foot. "My friend here wants to take diggings, and as you were
complaining that you could get no one to go halves with you, I thought
that I had better bring you together."
Sherlock Holmes seemed delighted at the idea of sharing his rooms
with me. "I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street," he said, "which
would suit us down to the ground. You don't mind the smell of strong
tobacco, I hope?"
"I always smoke `ship's' myself," I answered.
"That's good enough. I generally have chemicals about, and

occasionally do experiments. Would that annoy you?"
"By no means."
"Let me see -- what are my other shortcomings. I get in the dumps at
times, and don't open my mouth for days on end. You must not think I
am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and I'll soon be right. What
have you to confess now? It's just as well for two fellows to know the
worst of one another before they begin to live together."
I laughed at this cross-examination. "I keep a bull pup," I said, "and I
object to rows because my nerves are shaken, and I get up at all sorts of
ungodly hours, and I am extremely lazy. I have another set of vices
when I'm well, but those are the principal ones at present."
"Do you include violin-playing in your category of rows?" he asked,
anxiously.
"It depends on the player," I answered. "A well-played violin is a treat
for the gods -- a badly-played one ----"
"Oh, that's all right," he cried, with a merry laugh. "I think we may
consider the thing as settled -- that is, if the rooms are agreeable to
you."
"When shall we see them?"
"Call for me here at noon to-morrow, and we'll go together and settle
everything," he answered.
"All right -- noon exactly," said I, shaking his hand.
We left him working among his chemicals, and we walked together
towards my hotel.
"By the way," I asked suddenly, stopping and turning upon Stamford,
"how the deuce did he know that I had come from Afghanistan?"
My companion smiled an enigmatical smile. "That's just his little

peculiarity," he said. "A good many people have wanted to know how
he finds things out."
"Oh! a mystery is it?" I cried, rubbing my hands. "This is very piquant.
I am much obliged to you for bringing us together. `The proper study of
mankind is man,' you know."
"You must study him, then," Stamford said, as he bade me good-bye.
"You'll find him a knotty problem, though. I'll wager he learns more
about you than you about him. Good-bye."
"Good-bye," I answered, and strolled on to my hotel, considerably
interested in my new acquaintance.
CHAPTER II.
THE SCIENCE OF DEDUCTION.
WE met next day as he had arranged, and inspected the rooms at No.
221B, {5} Baker Street, of which he had spoken at our meeting. They
consisted of a couple of comfortable bed-rooms and a single large airy
sitting-room, cheerfully furnished, and illuminated by two broad
windows. So desirable in every way were the apartments, and so
moderate did the terms seem when divided between us, that the bargain
was concluded upon the spot, and we at once entered into possession.
That very evening I moved my things round from the hotel, and on the
following morning Sherlock Holmes followed me with several boxes
and portmanteaus. For a day or two we were busily employed in
unpacking and laying out our property to the best advantage. That done,
we gradually began to settle down and to accommodate ourselves to
our new surroundings.
Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with. He was quiet in
his ways, and his habits were regular. It was rare for him to be up after
ten at night, and he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before I
rose in the morning. Sometimes he spent his day at the chemical
laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting-rooms, and occasionally in long
walks, which appeared to take him into the lowest portions of the City.

Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him;
but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he
would lie